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FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 































































































































































































































































FOSTER’S 

CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


With Their History, and a Few Hints 
on How to Solve Them 




. 


BY 


K. F. FOSTER 


Formerly Puzzle Editor of the New York Sun and the 
Delineator. Author of “Foster on Mah Jong,” 
“Twenty-Point Mah Jong,” and Sixty- 
eight Books on Indoor Games 



NEW YORK 

DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 
1924 





COPYBIGHT, 1924 , 
By R. F. Fosteb 


(All Bights Reserved) 



PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY 

Wat <Sutnn Sc IBoDen Companp 

BOOK MANUFACTURERS 
RAHWAY NEW JERSEY 


DEC ^ 

©C1A814199 

VtO | 




DEDICATED 
TO SOLVERS 
WHO LIKE SIMPLE 
ANGLO-SAXON WORDS 


FOSTER’S 

CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


INTRODUCTION 

Few persons are aware that the puzzle is a pecul¬ 
iar American institution or that more than 200 
periodicals devoted to the subject have enjoyed 
a more or less brief existence in the United States 
during the past hundred years. Puzzles of all 
kinds have been brought to greater perfection in 
this country than anywhere else in the world, al¬ 
though Poe’s remark in the story of “The Gold 
Bug” still holds true: “It may well be doubted 
whether human ingenuity can construct an enigma 
which human ingenuity may not, by proper appli¬ 
cation, resolve.” 

In the matter of usefulness, a good puzzle is 
probably equal to any other mental pursuit or 
recreation that can be named. The study of such 
puzzles as word squares, or their modern de¬ 
scendant, the cross-word puzzle, cannot fail to 
add a very considerable stock of words to one’s 
vocabulary. There is nothing like a puzzle to cul¬ 
tivate concentration, which so many teachers tell 
us is the great secret of all intellectual improve¬ 
ment, and the necessity for thoroughly exhausting 
x 


2 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 

the possibilities of the subject is an excellent cor¬ 
rective for the too common habit of taking things 
for granted. I recall a lady who insisted and did 
battle for the proposition that the only thing we 
ever got from hens was eggs or chickens, and that 
chickens must be the word, as the space required 
one to fill eight places; entirely forgetting 
“ feathers.” 

As “Balmar,” a famous puzzle composer in his 
day, puts it: “The constant use of the dictionary, 
frequent search for proper synonyms, study of the 
derivation and construction of words, logical 
habits of deduction, and the ability intuitively to 
grasp an author’s hidden meaning develop an in¬ 
timate acquaintance with English vocables that 
steadily enriches one’s vocabulary as can no other 
means of study. Some of those who have devoted 
themselves to the study of word puzzles for years 
know practically almost every word in the lan¬ 
guage, being well versed not only in their signifi¬ 
cance, but in their use, history, and derivation. 
Shakespeare is said to have known and used only 
about ten thousand words. It is no exaggeration 
to say that some of Puzzledom’s representative 
solvers have a vocabulary ten times as great, as 
the contents of the unabridged lexicons are to 
them an open book.” 

While this may be putting it a little strong, it is 
undoubtedly true that any one who has given 
much time and attention to the study of 1 i form 
puzzles” as they were originally called, soon ac- 


FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 3 

quires a marvelous facility for picking out the 
word wanted to fit a given key, as has been demon¬ 
strated at some of our recent public contests, at 
which original cross-word puzzles were solved in 
less than fifteen minutes that many persons would 
be proud to do in an hour. 

Almost every newspaper now carries a puzzle 
column of some kind. When this feature first ap¬ 
peared as an adjunct to the news it is difficult to 
determine exactly, but as early as 1802 the 
“Farmers’ Almanac,” published in Boston, de¬ 
voted a column to puzzles in every issue. In 1865 
a monthly called 4 ‘Our Young Folks,” also pub¬ 
lished in Boston, had a puzzle column entitled 
“Round the Evening Lamp.” Shortly after that, 
in 1867, came the magazine made famous by Oliver 
Optic, with his puzzle column in “Our Boys and 
Girls.” This department was very properly en¬ 
titled, “Head Work.” 

Many excellent captions have been invented for 
these puzzle columns in various papers and maga¬ 
zines, such as “Tough Nuts” in “The Boys of the 
World,” “Hidden Thoughts” in “Frank Les¬ 
lie’s Young American,” “Knotty Kinks” in the 
Detroit “Free Press,” “Perplexities” in the 
“Ohio State Journal,” “Guess Work” in the 
“Central New Jersey Times,” and many others. 

Although many of these made sporadic at¬ 
tempts to run something in the way of geometrical 
problems, cut-out puzzles, tricks with figures, and 
conundrums, almost without exception they finally 


4 FOSTERS CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 

got down to availing themselves of the apparently 
inexhaustible supply of word squares, anagrams, 
acrostics, decapitations, missing words, and that 
sort of thing, all based on finding words with a 
certain number of letters, or a particular letter 
in a certain position in a word. Lately this tend¬ 
ency has concentrated on a particular manipula¬ 
tion of the words, popularly known as the cross¬ 
word puzzle. 

The central idea of the cross-word puzzle is not 
particularly new, but is rather a development of 
a much older form of puzzle. The first word-puz¬ 
zle of which we have any record in history is prob¬ 
ably the acrostic, which is usually in the form of 
a verse or verses, in which, by taking the first let¬ 
ter of each line, one is able to arrive at a word or 
phrase. 

In many of these the acrostic may pass entirely 
unnoticed. A man wrote a book which was pub¬ 
lished in England some years ago in which the 
first letter of each paragraph spelt out his real 
name, that on the title page being assumed. For 
more than forty years no one noticed it, and then 
only in grubbing over some old volumes in a sec¬ 
ond-hand shop, when a confirmed word-puzzle 
fiend happened to see it. 

The term *‘acrostic’’ was apparently first ap¬ 
plied to the prophecies which were written on 
leaves by an Erythraean sorceress. All the an¬ 
cients cultivated the art of writing acrostics. 
When it takes the form of a puzzle, the solver is 


FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 5 


asked to find certain words resembling the given 
words or sentence, so that when the required 
words are found the result will be a series of 
words whose initials or terminals correctly spell 
the answer to the puzzle. 

Here is a good example of both initials and 
terminals making words. Reading down, we get 
4 ‘Ancient History.” 

ABROACH 
NICOLAI 
C A L U M U S 
I C E B E L T 
EMBARGO 
NEBULAR 
TANTIVY 

When we come to the cross-word puzzle of to¬ 
day, we find that it is a return to simplicity after 
passing from the elementary form of the acrostic 
through the highly difficult form of the word 
square. While the word square was not extremely 
difficult to solve, it required a great deal of time 
and thought to construct, and it is improbable that 
a sufficient supply could be made to meet the pres¬ 
ent demand for word puzzles. 

In the word square, what we now call the skele¬ 
ton was known as the “word list,” which was a 
list of words with certain letters in them, from 
which the composer selected what he thought 
would fit. He then found some word or phrase 


6 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


that would indicate the word in as roundabout a 
way as possible. The following is an example of 
a simple word square, in which there are only five 
letters to each word. 

The key is given in the following, which should 
state the position the word is to occupy in the 
square when found. 

1. Interior. 

2. A remainder. 

3. To injure. 

4. For the fiddler. 

5. A city in the Tyrol. 

Upon looking these over, we follow the same 
process that is recommended in solving the ordi¬ 
nary cross-word puzzle of to-day, by picking out 
the apparently easy one first, and we decide that 
among the many things a fiddler might require 
which could be stated in five letters 11 Resin” 
might do for a starter. This gives us the begin¬ 
ning of our pattern for the square, if “Resin” is 
correct for the fourth word. 

— — — R — 

— — — S — 

RESIN 

— — — N — 

The next step is to pick out some word sug¬ 
gested by the key which shall be a verb, synony- 


FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 7 

mous with injure, and we finally decide to try 
‘‘Abuse.” Now we have this form: 

— — A R — 

— — BE — 
ABUSE 
RESIN 

— — E N — 

As between the top and bottom we are in doubt, 
but conclude to look up the city in the Tyrol. As 
it must be well known, we go over our atlas with a 
magnifying glass, but fail to find one that will fit, 
so we turn to the top words, being sure we are 
right about Nos. 3 and 4. 

As “interior” is something inside, we finally 
try “Heart” and get this: 

HEART 
E — BE¬ 
AD U S E 
RESIN 
T — E N — 

Now there is only one word which can reason¬ 
ably be filled out that begins with T and has E 
and N for the third and fourth letters and that is 
“Trent.” We then recall that the famous Coun¬ 
cil of Trent was held in a city of the Tyrol in 1545- 
1563. 

That decided upon, it is easy to see that the an¬ 
swer to the key “Remainder,” must be what is 


8 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


left in the grate after the fire has gone out, and 
our square is complete. 

HEART 

EMBER 

ABUSE 

RESIN 

TRENT 

Some of these word squares, especially those 
having a small number of letters in each word, 
were so constructed that sixteen letters would 
form eight different words, and some could be 
read either backward or forward, or up or down. 

Departing from the square, we find in many 
periodicals various attempts at original forms, 
such as the diamond, pentagon, crosses, cushions, 
arrows, decagons, and hearts. The following will 
give one a good idea of a diamond: 

T 

AHA 

ARENA 

THEATRE 

ANTIC 

ARC 

E 

The crossings in this are not numerous, on ac¬ 
count of the difference in the lengths of the words. 

The only way in which the modern cross-word 


FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 9 

puzzles differ from the older form is in the lack 
of symmetry. The words may cross, hut without 
any particular form or limit as to the number or 
points of crossing, whatever symmetry there is 
being supplied by the geometrical arrangement 
of the blank spaces, in which no letters are to be 
placed. These are usually black. The following 
will give one an idea of a part of such a square. 

0 C C U L T □ 

R □ □ R A I D 

I □ G A Z E R 

S A L T Y □ 

0 G E E □ 

N 0 B □ 

□ G E 

This introduction of the blank squares is sim¬ 
ply a dodge to avoid the difficulty of constructing 
squares in which every letter shall cross some 
other letter and all the words shall be of uniform 
length, or of a predetermined pattern length, as 
in the diamond. The difference between being 
obliged to find five or six words of five or six let¬ 
ters each, all crossing accurately, as compared to 
the construction of a modern cross-word puzzle, 
may be imagined. When it comes to eight-letter 
words, the composers are usually famous. 

Here is one that was started with the very obvi¬ 
ous key, “A dish of eggs and milk, beaten to¬ 
gether, seasoned and fried .' 9 This being the fifth 


10 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


word of eight letters was easily plotted as “ Ome¬ 
lette.” The square when completed, is this: 

HAD B OTES 
APIOMERI 
DINNERED 
BONELACE 
OMELETTE 
TERATOID 
ERECTING 
SIDEEDGE 

This was published in “The, Oracle” and con¬ 
tributed by Brainerd P. Emery, of Newburyport, 
Mass. The key phrases were very ingenious, but 
several solvers got it. The method by which it 
was figured out is given, together with the keys, 
in the “Key to Puzzledom,” 1906 edition, page 28, 
et seq. 

Beyond their symmetrical appearance, the 
black squares, or blanks, have nothing to do with 
the puzzle itself, and there is no reason even 
why they should be symmetrical. Just as good a 
puzzle might be made if the black squares were 
scattered around anywhere that it was convenient 
to end a word. Each composer, or newspaper, 
seems to favor a particular pattern. The form 
selected for the puzzles in the following pages is 
original with me, and registered as a trade mark. 
The idea of the black spaces has been followed, 
and also the symmetrical appearance of the dia- 


FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 11 

gram, as it undoubtedly adds to the appearance 
of the whole thing. 

The fundamental idea of all these puzzles is to 
allow for variation in the length of words to be 
used by putting an end to them with a black 
square. Instead of the old formula, “My first is 
a word of seven letters,” the solver is left to count 
up the number of letters wanted for himself, be¬ 
ing shown where to begin by the number to the 
left of the line, or at the top of the column. 

There is no improvement in the manner of giv¬ 
ing the key to the word sought for. That has been 
followed for more than two thousand years, and 
there are still the same two ways of doing it. 
One of these is by the use of straight single-word 
synonyms; the other is by a phrase giving either 
a description or allusion. 

As a rule, synonyms are selected which have a 
very different number of letters from the word 
wanted, or which are so little known that they will 
be about the last thing thought of. The only ob¬ 
jection to them is that they are usually so easy to 
look up in any of the many books of synonyms 
now published, yet I have known a very good 
solver to get hopelessly stuck on an eight-letter 
synonym for “head.” He had tried “Director” 
and “Commence,” but found they did not fit in 
with later developments, which indicated that part 
of the synonym wanted for head should be this: 


C 0 


— P-E 


12 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


I trust it is not necessary to tell the reader what 
the word was. So sure am I that any persons of 
ordinary intelligence can solve any cross-word 
puzzle that I make no offer of solutions to those 
in this volume. 

There is a certain way to go about finding words 
of a known number of letters, and those of only 
three or four letters are difficult only on account 
of the number of possible words. It is often more 
difficult to hit upon the right word, when it is to 
have only four letters, than if seven or eight are 
wanted, unless a number of cross letters have been 
found first. This is especially true when the word 
may be either a noun or a verb. For example, 
there are at least six synonyms of five letters each 
that will answer to the word “light.’’ 

As an example of suggestion by phrase, instead 
of by synonym, take such a simple key as “A 
substitute for a subway seat,” which any New 
Yorker would easily read as ‘ ‘ Strap. 1 ’ If the idea 
is more far fetched, or has a whimsical turn, it 
may be more difficult than the synonym, although 
very obvious when found, like Carolyn Wells’ 
famous key, “A little shaver,” which leads one to 
think of all manner of small boys, instead of a 
‘‘ razor.” 

When one comes to the crossings of the words 
themselves, there are sometimes a great many 
fillers to choose from after one or more of the let¬ 
ters have been fairly accurately placed. If there 
is any hesitation, it is an excellent rule to pick 


FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 13 

out the letter with the smaller number of varia¬ 
tions and try that out first, as it should be obvious 
that if there is only one letter that can possibly 
fill that space, it ought to be much easier to pick 
the right word than if any of six or seven dif¬ 
ferent letters might be the right one. 

This limitation of possibility is something that 
one learns by experience. For example, if you 
want a three-letter word beginning with “u,” if 
you are an expert you should know that there are 
only four words in the English language that will 
answer: “Ugh! Urn, Use, and Uva.” The word 
“Ure," to exercise, is obsolete and as for “Ugh!" 
could anyone key such a word without pointing 
out exactly what it was f 

There are no obsolete words in the following 
puzzles, and no foreign words or proper names. 

It is when you have settled upon what you 
imagine to be two or three of the letters of a 
word, which might be the skeleton of any one of 
a dozen or twenty words, that you should first 
turn your attention to the crossings at the places 
that might be filled up with any one of a dozen or 
more different letters. 

To take a concrete example, suppose you have 
three letters of a five-letter word, such as 

S — A — E 

If you will tabulate all the consonants that 
might be used to fill out this word of five letters, 
you will find that there are only five to go between 


14 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


“s” and “a,” 

while there are eleven that might 

go between “a 
able ones: 

” and “e.” These 

are the avail- 

— c — 1 — 

— h — r — 

— p — r — 

— c — r — 

— h — v — 

— t — g — 

— h — d — 

— 1 — k — 

— t — k — 

— h — k — 

— 1 — t — 

— t — 1 — 

— h — p — 

— 1 — v — 

— t — r — 

— h — 1 — 

— p — c — 

— t — t — 

— h — m — 

- P - d - 

— t — v — 


Of these, you have only five possible consonants, 
C, H, L, P, T, for the first space, whereas you 
have eleven: C, D, Gr, K, L, M, P, R, T, V, for the 
second space. You should therefore look first for 
the cross word having the smaller number of pos¬ 
sibilities, as five letters can be more readily ex¬ 
hausted than eleven. 

Having done this, you may find that upon going 
further, not one of those words will fit, although 
there are twenty-one of them. In that case, there 
is only one word in which you have another vowel, 
and that is ‘‘ suave. ” As a rule, the key will limit 
twenty-one possibilities like the above, to two or 
three. 

I never use proper names, because I find that 
the key to them is too obvious, practically point¬ 
ing out the name, or telling where it may be found. 
For example, one composer gives us as a key, “A 
great Persian monarch.” As none of the modern 
ones have been great, we turn at once to Cyrus, 
but as six letters are wanted, it must be Darius. 


FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 15 

Almost all proper names or scientific words 
have to be so clearly marked that they may be 
readily found in any dictionary. My idea of a 
good cross-word puzzle is that it should make the 
solver think, and render a dictionary of little 
value except to verify spelling that he is not sure 
of. These puzzles tend to make a good speller 
out of anyone. I have known a man to get all 
mixed up on a puzzle because he had always spelt 
“balance” with two l’s, never dreaming it was 
spelt any other way until he could not solve his 
puzzle. 

I have tried in the following pages to introduce 
a new form of cross-word puzzle, differing from 
the usual run of such puzzles in other ways than 
in the form of the diagram. In the first place, I 
believe that these puzzles can be made quite dif¬ 
ficult enough by using the simplest Anglo-Saxon 
words, the shorter the better, and the more syn- 
onymns there are for such words the better. But 
I also believe in fewer crossings. 

Nothing enlarges a person’s vocabulary like 
learning a number of different ways of saying the 
same thing in plain English words, and avoiding 
the Latin derivatives as much as possible. On the 
old “New York Sun,” under Dana, there were cer¬ 
tain words that were taboo, because the Anglo- 
Saxon word was better. One of these was “com¬ 
mence” instead of begin. No one who was on the 
staff of “The Sun” at that time ever uses that 
word commence, even to-day, no matter what he 
writes or where. 


16 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


In the following puzzles there are more than a 
thousand different words, and 850 of them are 
words of only three, four, or five letters each. 
Long and difficult words are not particularly in¬ 
teresting or useful, but they serve as fillers and 
make one stop to think if they know just what 
those long words really mean. Words that add 
nothing to one’s knowledge, and are of no use in 
ordinary conversation, may be all right for the 
sole purpose of making puzzles difficult, but that 
is all. Who would ever think of saying that a 
young lady was a fine specimen of exiguity, and 
expect anyone to understand the description? 
Yet such words are continually dragged into 
cross-word puzzles. 

The key given to a puzzle-word may be instruc¬ 
tive in calling attention to the fact, when the word 
is found, that it is one of those that are too often 
wrongly used, or is used as a noun when it is 
really a verb. There are quite a number of words 
in common use that do not mean what most per¬ 
sons imagine they do. The difference between the 
words “think” and “imagine” is a case in point. 
“Lot” and “number” is another. 

Puzzles are of undoubted use in teaching one 
to think quickly, and to reject the impossible with¬ 
out loss of time. Suppose you have selected such 
a word as “lexicon” for a horizontal line, and are 
about to write it into the space for seven letters, 
when you see that the third letter must begin a 
vertical word. You should know instantly that 


FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 17 

“lexicon” cannot be correct, as there is no proper 
English word that begins with “x.” In the same 
way, yon will save a great deal of time if you do 
not try to find words ending in “v.” 

In puzzle words, it is not considered necessary 
to indicate the infinitive of verbs by inserting the 
word “ to. ” For example, the word ‘ ‘ swing ’ ’ may 
be either the name of a plaything, or the action, 
“to swing.” Even if the infinitive form is indi¬ 
cated by the key, the “ to ” is omitted in the puzzle 
itself. 

Some words which would be too easily found of 
plainly keyed, or too well marked, are indicated 
in the key by some sort of statement that requires 
consideration, and that may mean any one of sev¬ 
eral perhaps very different things. In studying 
the construction of the average cross-word puzzle, 
I have been impressed by the fact that they seem 
to furnish too many clues to the solution, an en¬ 
tirely unnecessary number in fact. 

There are so many crossings, for instance, that 
after one or two easy words have been found, the 
harder ones are practically outlined, and in many 
cases it is not necessary even to look at the key; 
the word finishes itself, automatically, as it were. 

As one expert solver said to me; “after you get 
a few words in place, the letters forming the cross 
words are very much like shorthand, in which you 
see on the notebook only the skeleton formed by 
the consonants, and can easily guess the vowels.” 

It has been my aim in these puzzles to restrict 


18 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


the solver to two or three crossing places, so as 
not to make so many words obvious, or nearly so, 
after not more than half the twenty-two words re¬ 
quired have been found. That this is quite 
enough, if not more than enough, should be obvi¬ 
ous when we consider that the progenitor of all 
word puzzles, the acrostic, gave only one letter 
which might be called a cross, the initial of a word 
of perhaps seven or eight letters, yet no one has 
ever been able to build an acrostic that could not 
be solved. 

Many words can be found by going over the 
possibilities of each of the five vowels that might 
come between two consonants, when it has been 
pretty well settled what those consonants are. 
There are also certain consonants that are never 
followed by another consonant, and by practice 
and experience the solver soon becomes familiar 
with them. 

The idea of these circle-word puzzles is to make 
the solver think; not to wear out his dictionary. 


DIAGRAMS, DIRECTIONS AND KEYS 


20 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Toivards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 



FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 21 


KEY TO No. 1 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. Part of a flower 

2. Stringy 

3. A table vegetable 

4. Over excited 

5. Part of a ship 

6. A separator 

7. Endless affairs 

8. Restoring order 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. Get ready to leave 

2. Tied up 

3. To study. 

4. Fair warning 

9. Keeping a record 

10. Part of a letter 

11. A source of sweetness 

12. In the marriage ceremony 

13. Hurry 

14. A comfortable place 

15. Used in making shoes 

16. Chiefly for children 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. A state of affairs 

18. Always improving 


22 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 




FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 23 


KEY TO No. 2 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. A poor residence 

2. Easily disturbed 

3. An imported wild flower 

4. A good guesser 

5. An entertainer 

6. A food element 

7. Part of a fire 

8. All settled 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. A favorite resting place 

2. What you do not know 

3. Something to begin on 

4. A challenge 

9. Energy 

10. Trimming 

11. Part of a fish 

12. The beginning of a trial 

13. An entangling arrangement 

14. A kitchen substitute 

15. To annoy 

16. A swelling 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. The result of subdivision 

18. Essential to orators 


24 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 




FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 25 


KEY TO No. 3 

Reading Abound the Cikcle: 

1. Appraised 

2. A container 

3. To hold and pull 

4. Pertaining to the pastoral 

5. To keep things off the floor 

6. A form of hallucination 

7. An uncommon possession 

8. A meeting place 

Reading Towakd the Centke: 

1. A question of standard 

2. A toilet accessory 

3. Short name for a mosquito 

4. Debts that legally need not he paid 

9. A score-card 

10. A title 

11. The origin of all trouble 

12. One sort of handle 

13. An unworldly person 

14. At any time 

15. A woman’s argument 

16. Often sold at auction 

Reading Cleak Ackoss: 

17. A telegram 

18. Keeping it down 


26 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 




FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 27 


KEY TO No. 4 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. To knit together 

2. A new broom 

3. Fundamental 

4. A support for the feet 

5. Part of an argument 

6. The right thing in the right place 

7. A domestic pet 

8. A favorite game 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Not for sale 

2. To hold things together 

3. Types of strength 

4. Moderate drinking 

9. To pester 

10. Part of a lamp 

11. The finish 

12. The barber’s favorite word 

13. To obtain 

14. The key to lost motions 

15. Essential to advertisers 

16. Infrequent 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Never lies down 

18. Will not agree with you 


28 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 29 


KEY TO No. 5 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. A sequence 

2. To look ahead 

3. Deserted 

4. To distinguish 

5. A high place 

6. The result of accident 

7. A universal want 

8. Part of the Sunday papers 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. What the stage wants most 

2. The beginning of a motion picture 

3. More fuss than smoke 

4. The plural of “die” 

9. What football players dislike 

10. What few families have 

11. Part of a drinking glass 

12. Result of washing clothes 

13. When late for school 

14. A kind of marble 

15. The result of keeping an account 

16. One of the fine arts 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. What boys are punished for 

18. What a hostess dislikes in a guest 


30 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 




FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 31 


KEY TO NO. 6 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. To fix up a scheme 

2. To shut up 

3. A common hat ornament 

4. Where some boys learn to steal 

5. To ask for what you do not think you will 

get 

6. Being true to your friends 

7. A convenient carrier 

8. A trick 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. All that is sometimes left 

2. Doing nothing in particular 

3. Threatening when closed 

4. The chances against winning anything 

9. Without result 

10. What shoes are made of 

11. The result of industry 

12. Not attractive 

13. What autos stop for 

14. Dances of a certain kind 

15. A fish that is not a game fish 

16. Necessary for making camp fires 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Different from other persons 

18. Result of sea bathing 


32 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 






FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 33 


KEY TO No. 7 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. A boundary 

2. Sounds beard more than once 

3. To reinstate 

4. An English watch dog 

5. Ingredients of a cocktail 

6. The one who is more blessed 

7. A usually exaggerated quantity 

8. A hint to a lazy horse 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Much used for walls 

2. Unpolished 

3. Proud of, if yours 

4. Bad place for a horse 

9. To combine 

10. Never waits for you 

11. An open and shut game 

12. Songs of a kind 

13. The end of an acquaintance 

14. One result of high living 

15. The ancestor of pork 

16. The line is not busy 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Preparation for war 

18. Without thinking of one’s self 


34 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 35 


KEY TO No. 8 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. Hazard 

2. To degrade 

3. What bills are for 

4. A result of fascination 

5. Secret meeting 

6. Properly dressed for the ceremony 

7. To set free 

8. A mythical intermediate space 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. To get by chance 

2. To mass together 

3. Co-operate 

4. A sign to shorten sail 

9. Must not be done the wrong way 

10. To hang out # 

11. To surround 

12. Patronage and support 

13. First requisite for a house 

14. No apparent difference 

15. A branch of the military service 

16. What perfumes are for 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Conduct open to criticism 

18. Way weapons are often held 


36 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 37 


KEY TO No. 9 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. To get further down 

2. A tree that dyes 

3. A spotty appearance 

4. A negative proceeding 

5. All from the centre 

6. Helps vessels over shallow water 

7. The person who pays the taxes 

8. Pusillanimous 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Calamitous 

2. An expensive ornament 

3. The emblem of bravery 

4. Much used in statements 

9. A male servant 

10. Should not be spoken, seen, or heard 

11. Rare and valuable 

12. A smooth talker 

13. To acknowledge 

14. A land measure 

15. Commonly called “pep” 

16. Coverings 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Something that must be so 

18. Argumentative presentations 


38 POSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 



FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 39 


KEY TO No. 10 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. Part of an auto 

2. One of the centuries 

3. A two-fold quality 

4. An edging 

5. Borders of the sea 

6. To get wet 

7. For attentive listeners 

8. To improve a road 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Finished 

2. Central in position 

3. A challenge 

4. Things that cut both ways 

9. Much used in the kitchen 

10. What you did this morning 

11. The last item on a bill 

12. To pull in 

13. To affix 

14. To smooth things over 

15. Help 

16. The junction of two points 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. All settled in advance 

18. Done to cause annoyance or damage 


40 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 



FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 41 


KEY TO No. 11 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. A treasure seeker 

2. A business partnership 

3. To have title to 

4. A poisonous beautifier 

5. Confused 

6. The most important fruit in history 

7. The newsboy's delight 

8. Not averse to tipping 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. A small coin 

2. The beginning of a statue 

3. An excuse 

4. A support 

9. To annoy 

10. Better than walking 

11. Rough in one direction only 

12. Always 

13. A hard drinker 

14. Divisions of time 

15. A member of some families 

16. Something wanted 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Arrangement in structure 

18. A performer without a part 


42 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 



FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 43 


KEY TO No. 12 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. A form of transportation 

2. What loss of interest leads to 

3. The remains of the feast 

4. To remit 

5. The usual result of a drop 

6. A distinguished person 

7. A settlement 

8. Unpretentious 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Places for watches 

2. Nobody 

3. Helping yourself 

4. To occupy a space 

9. Where fish come from 

10. A connection 

11. A salesman’s asset 

12. Nothing to choose between 

13. Disencumbered. 

14. What goes before 

15. Inexperienced 

16. A short poem 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. A musical comedy 

18. To inspire 


44 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 45 


KEY TO No. 13 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. To send money 

2. A peculiarity of old clothes 

3. The beginning of things 

4. Part of an auto 

5. Accommodates 

6. A sore finger 

7. A fortune teller 

8. The basis of argument 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. A breakfast food 

2. A good partner 

3. What you are told 

4. A valuable fur 

9. To supply a ship 

10. An ordeal 

11. Indisposed 

12. A tangle 

13. An instrument of punishment 

14. Returned 

15. Nothing to say 

16. To work with a point 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. A disagreeable person 

18. Unduly scrupulous 


46 FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 



FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 47 


KEY TO No. 14 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. A boundary 

2. Terrifies 

3. Ancestor of the bobbin 

4. Incompetent 

5. Part of a stream 

6. An accountant 

7. Tree that turns color first 

8. Extremely important 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. To wrap a rope 

2. Beyond recall 

3. The highest part of a building 

4. What matches are made of 

9. A corded surface 

10. The badge of unskilled labor 

11. A kind of iron 

12. A land measurement 

13. To dip 

14. Tree climbers 

15. Part of a bolt 

16. Compensation for public use 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Lacking in personality 

18. Grotesquely 


48 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 49 


KEY TO No. 15 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. A ship's motion 

2. A military force 

3. A favorite with lunch eaters 

4. Unfortunate 

5. A subject 

6. To destroy a force 

7. Adjusted for an effect 

8. Part of a special train 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Inside matter 

2. A deceiver 

3. A bird 

4. To withhold 

9. To join 

10. To lean over 

11. To remove seeds 

12. Lubricants 

13. A cask of wine 

14. To suppress 

15. A fastener 

16. Spikes 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Exact in matters of etiquette 

18. More than necessary 


50 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 




FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 51 


KEY TO No. 16 

Reading Abound the Cibcle: 

1. Glossy, yet dull 

2. Blacksmiths 

3. What should be done with old love letters 

4. The golfer’s bane 

5. To confine 

6. Rigidity 

7. To keep watch 

8. An important personage 

Reading Towabd the Centbe: 

1. An article of clothing 

2. Desirable in cold weather 

3. A retreat 

4. A billiard shot 

9. A social function 

10. Short drinks 

11. A boat’s distinction 

12. A person of rank 

13. A kind of coal 

14. The turning point 

15. Part of a fountain pen 

16. Recedes 

Reading Cleab Acboss: 

17. Against the government 

18. Surpassing your own class 


52 FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 




FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 53 


KEY TO No. 17 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. Fierce love making 

2. A Chinese invention 

3. A church dignitary 

4. A common insurance advertisement 

5. Hidden treasures 

6. Something worth copying 

7. A flower 

8. Pertaining to age 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Holdfasts 

2. An invitation 

3. The inside of some fruits 

4. A century plant 

9. A discordant noise 

10. Our daily task 

11. Unreasoning 

12. Fit for the job 

13. Nothing 

14. Mischievous children 

15. Ill-tempered 

16. People without sin 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Governed by the sense of right 

18. Disloyalty 


54 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 55 


KEY TO No. 18 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. A warning sound 

2. To make clear 

3. Persecuted 

4. Things as they are 

5. A question of proportion 

6. Pointless 

7. A sharpening instrument 

8. A popular pastime 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Mental distress 

2. The universal curse 

3. An enemy to fire 

4. A condition in cookery 

9. A rodent 

10. The break in the day’s work 

11. A climbing plant 

12. In front of the town house 

13. To employ 

14. A little at a time 

15. To put on more 

16. A substitute 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. A wrong idea 

18. How cyclones come 


56 FOSTER'S OIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 






FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 57 


KEY TO No. 19 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. A glossy cloth 

2. Authentic 

3. Brought down 

4. Not to be depended on 

5. The end of many books 

6. Something to discuss 

7. A part of every word 

8. A species of recreation 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Old fashioned furniture 

2. The receipts of a show 

3. Wide awake 

4. A sharp place 

9. A result of summer 

10. A sensitive organ 

11. Short, but enjoyable 

12. A small measure 

13. A promise, usually unreliable 

14. A flower 

15. The fore part of a battleship 

16. To decide 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Good friends 

18. Not up to standard 


58 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre . 

i The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 


FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 59 


KEY TO No. 20 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. What politicians want 

2. A child’s delight 

3. Easily changed 

4. Worthless opinion 

5. A narrow way 

6. The great button presser 

7. Part of an organ 

8. Land containing ore 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Unsuppressible 

2. A kind of bonnet 

3. A great comforter 

4. A jumping-off place 

9. Kitchen utensils 

10. Between you and your native land 

11. Indicates something to follow 

12. Essential to publishers 

13. An assistant 

14. A covering 

15. A kind of poetry 

16. What after-dinner speakers want 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. The art of turning things out 

18. Where everyone can see 


60 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

tlle 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-Ietter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 






FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 61 


KEY TO No. 21 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. Water, with land on each side 

2. The American's ambition 

3. A polite name for a failure 

4. When things more than meet 

5. A species of bead 

6. Uncontrollable in life 

7. All alone in strength 

8. The chief part of many a ship's cargo 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. A square proposition 

2. A place to be trusted on a dark night 

3. A motto for the would-be rich 

4. It might happen again 

9. The talk that tires 

10. What is left in the bottle 

11. An opening 

12. Not particularly difficulty 

13. A separator 

14. Slippery customers 

15. A portion of history 

16. What gambling usually leads to 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. More than economy 

18. Not up to specifications 


62 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





POSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 63 


KEY TO No. 22 

Reading Abound the Circle: 

1. A major offender 

2. Looking down upon others 

3. Built at one person’s expense 

4. The juice that often fails us 

5. One kind of electricity 

6. A part of the alphabet 

7. A passage way 

8. To render powerless 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. Part of a hat 

2. A famous messenger 

3. One kind of value 

4. A small fly 

9. An important part of a table 

10. The fruit of various trees 

11. What few girls learn to do now 

12. A borer 

13. A container 

14. Between small hills 

15. Something all men have 

16. A guide for every one 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Stooping to conquer 

18. How armies enter the enemy’s country 


64 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 



FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 65 


KEY TO No. 23 

Reading Abound the Circle: 

1. A species of bear 

2. To hold it all 

3. The attitude of an enemy 

4. Before bursting 

5. A bicyclist in knickerbockers 

6. Not full speed 

7. What people sit down to 

8. The first sign of a nearby fire 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. Unmixed 

2. To bear your name 

3. Apologies for better houses 

4. An understanding 

9. Kept on to keep order 

10. Not an every-day occurrence 

11. An abbreviation of a necessity 

12. Those who help us 

13. A suppressed emotion 

14. A dessert 

15. A public highway 

16. Trees 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. False appearances. 

18. Putting an end to things. 


66 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 






FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 67 


KEY TO No. 24 

Reading Abound the Cikcle : 

1. Six bridge players 

2. What children take to school 

3. A method of transportation 

4. To tell all yon know 

5. An ignorant person 

6. What makes a book famous 

7. A substitute for a tip 

8. A tile in Mah Jong 

Reading Towaed the Centke : 

1. Rises and falls 

2. A stenographer’s habit 

3. One of two 

4. An ice-cream accompaniment 

9. A small cake 

10. No advantage 

11. What you do to portrait painters 

12. A warm place 

13. The origin of iron 

14. Denoting rank 

15. Not that either 

16. Something that always comes back 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Exaggerated solemnity 

18. To supply a deficiency 


68 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 69 


KEY TO No. 25 

Reading Abound the Circle : 

1. A representation 

2. The way a car should run 

3. Time to go to work 

4. Necessary to write a novel 

5. A silent accountant 

6. Should be well turned 

7. A matter of obligation 

8. Suggesting age 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. The condition of most cellars 

2. To go between 

3. To be avoided in travelling 

4. For smoothing over 

9. Used before entering 

10. A unit of measurement 

11. What you are now looking at 

12. Part of the public reservations 

13. To take apart 

14. An artistic description 

15. One who can do something for you 

16. Favorite stopping places 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. With unnecessary expenditure 

18. In the manner of old men 


70 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 







FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 71 


KEY TO No. 26 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. Indicating something else 

2. A kind of permission 

3. A substitute for soldiers 

4. Defects in auto mudguards 

5. A guide that is always at the end 

6. After something else 

7. In the most sumptuous manner 

8. Pertaining to the country 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. Part of a window 

2. The most ductile of metals 

3. The owner of a nest that is a hoax 

4. A way to hide things 

9. A bundle of sticks 

10. The adjoining house 

11. Skilful arrangement 

12. Severe or cutting 

13. Short record of a long event 

14. A conference 

15. An animal of uncertain pedigree 

16. Not worth painting 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Working overtime without pay 

18. Fittingly 


72 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 







FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 73 


KEY TO No. 27 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. Good place for trout fishing 

2. Not to the manor horn 

3. A school girl's amusement 

4. Tending to lengthen life 

5. Used in soup 

6. To work in thoroughly 

7. Part of a staircase 

8. The author of many lies 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. For settling disputes 

2. A thin colored curtain 

3. Often eaten with cheese 

4. A warning 

9. A vegetable container 

10. A thing accomplished 

11. Important in handwriting 

12. A favorite dinner dish 

13. To hold together 

14. Signs of sleep 

15. To decorate 

16. A species of eagle 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Open to objection 

18. A remedy for rats 


74 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 







FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 75 


KEY TO No. 28 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. To take away something desirable 

2. A species of insanity 

3. What lazy people like 

4. A gardening term 

5. Not the person who hands out the money 

6. A demonstration of applause 

7. To he shown, if feminine 

8. Part of a piano 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. Applied friction 

2. A very small particle 

3. A thing not often returned 

4. To push with a pole 

9. Lacking interest 

10. A common plant 

11. To break up 

12. Next to the lowest of English nobility 

13. To annoy a person 

14. One who applies a thing 

15. A model of industry 

16. An examination 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Extended presentations 

18. Getting things done quickly 


76 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Hound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Him 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 






FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 77 


KEY TO No. 29 

Reading Abound the Circle : 

1. Of imposing character 

2. What is due to age 

3. May be read at a glance 

4. A dogmatical talk 

5. A sometimes desirable relative 

6. A powerful gas 

7. Much above the common 

8. Part of a whip 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. A tenacious substance 

2. A result of neglect 

3. Accumulated knowledge 

4. Hidden support 

9. The property of a bow 

10. Usually executed when found 

11. Expresses understanding 

12. Familiar trees 

13. To keep things steady 

14. A common plaything 

15. Making love quietly 

16. The impulse to action 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Of a financial nature 

18. Nothing if not amusing 


78 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 






FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 79 


KEY TO No. 30 

Reading Abound the Cikcle : 

1. Where passengers are sometimes sent 

2. A medium's assistant 

3. The world of make-believe 

4. Signs of coming events 

5. Not always what it represents 

6. What walking does 

7. Never on the top 

8. Something to discuss 

Reading Towaed the Centee : 

1. To communicate power 

2. Portions 

3. A common fruit 

4. A line of communication 

9. A part of lobster 

10. Something that can he raised 

11. Covered twice a day 

12. The prow of a ship 

13. Part of a rope 

14. A characteristic of wheat 

15. A skein of yarn 

16. A system of engraving 

Reading Clear Aceoss : 

17. A name for moles 

18. A method of concealment 


80 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 81 


KEY TO No. 31 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. Unyielding 

2. Reciting from memory 

3. A protection for the skin 

4. An automobile accessory 

5. The reward of achievement 

6. The billiard player’s goal 

7. Moving in one direction 

8. Unreasonably fanatical 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. Part of a school education 

2. The plural of die 

3. A quotation 

4. A cooking substitute 

9. A covering 

10. Representation of a person 

11. Part of a train 

12. The top of anything 

13. Part of a railroad 

14. Undesirable acquaintances 

15. A carrier for a certain food 

16. A swelling 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. A form of bronco busting 

18. A secret intelligence stunt 



82 FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


DIRECTIONS 


All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 







FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 83 


KEY TO No. 32 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. Ready to be thrown 

2. Good looks and disposition 

3. Something to be proud of 

4. Intemperately zealous 

5. Hollow ware 

6. Everybody’s friend 

7. Where the eye turns 

8. Rheumatic signs 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. Ready to eat 

2. For cellar walls 

3. A command often heard at a fire 

4. To coil 

9. A chicken’s disease 

10. For work or a foot rest 

11. To provoke 

12. An expert at flying 

13. Part of a pen 

14. Knowledge practically applied 

15. A little known bird 

16. Something to be learned 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. A recovery 

18. A property of soda water 


84 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre, 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 







FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 85 


KEY TO No. 33 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. A negro delicacy 

2. A way of doing things 

3. An imperative command 

4. To go down stairs 

5. A ship that is ready to sail 

6. Styles in manufacture 

7. Usually put into soup 

8. A church functionary 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. A weather condition 

2. One way to get information 

3. Not for sale 

4. Eating what you dislike 

9. A part of ladders 

10. Things left after a scramble 

11. A tree with small beginnings 

12. What one takes in old age 

13. A term in playing bridge 

14. On equal terms 

15. Part of a golf course 

16. The highest part of a horse 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. What many labor under 

18. What most singers want 


86 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 


FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 87 


KEY TO No. 34 

Reading Abound the Circle : 

1. Part of the kitchen furniture 

2. To fortify 

3. The result of irrigation 

4. To yield unwisely 

5. Elevated 

6. Where the trout hide 

7. Wrong time for snap shots 

8. A bend 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. An attraction at the seashore 

2. To prepare for a journey 

3. The result of improvidence 

4. Necessary in a poem 

9. Part of a scythe 

10. To have helped along 

11. Poetry intended to be sung 

12. Unusually large deer 

13. A marker 

14. One way of learning things 

15. To beat a drum briskly 

16. Rules that carry penalties 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Additional ornamentation 

18. Want of agreement 


88 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 89 


KEY TO No. 35 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. To get things as far as you can 

2. Advances 

3. To write on the back 

4. A person’s opinion ascertained 

5. Not a narrow skirt 

6. Part of every car 

7. A closed incident 

8. One kind of singing 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. The country boy’s goal 

2. What the farmer does 

3. Cooling drinks 

4. The beginning of a building 

9. The fisherman’s pride 

10. An important message 

11. Part of a fish 

12. A meeting place 

13. Speaking of yesterday’s accomplishments 

14. What one usually does in a train 

15. A container 

16. The bane of housekeepers 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Bills paid 

18. Repeating a thing interminably 


90 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 91 


KEY TO No. 36 

Reading Abound the Circle : 

1. The days of the week 

2. To say yon can do it 

3. The evidence of education 

4. The great uncertainty 

5. A quarrelsome woman 

6. Impenetrable 

7. A kind of marble 

8. One who has been in prison 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. Good advice to the young 

2. Something to tie to 

3. A term in playing bridge 

4. A partner 

9. To irritate 

10. A number that reads both ways 

11. The foundation of many fortunes 

12. Pieces of rope 

13. A companion 

14. A kind of marble 

15. An English drink 

16. To put under cover 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Mental revival 

18. Fears for the future 


92 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 




FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 93 


KEY TO No. 37 

Reading Abound the Circle : 

1 . 

Used in road building 

2. 

Gone over again 

3. 

The way they went 

4. 

The results of investment 

5. 

What idle fellows usually do 

6. 

Part of a staircase 

7. 

An element in good paint 

8 . 

An examination 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1 . 

One way to disappear 

2. 

Excursions 

3. 

Finished 

4. 

A preliminary 

9. 

A popular drink 

10. 

Timid utterance 

11. 

A serious undertaking 

12. 

Got rid of 

13. 

An effort 

14. 

Uncommon 

15. 

Pertaining to the past century 

16. 

A direction 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. 

Incapacitated 

18. 

Religious orders 


94 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 95 


KEY TO No. 38 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. Family relatives 

2. Part of a dress 

3. A pastoral quality 

4. Commonplace 

5. After a bath 

6. One who should not he spoken to 

7. Associations 

8. The mark of a mistake 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. A controlling influence 

2. A residence 

3. Part of a printer’s stock 

4. To compress 

9. An expensive resort 

10. More worn than seen 

11. Peculiar 

12. An aromatic plant 

13. A favorable answer 

14. Not as much as formerly 

15. A propeller 

16. A poker term 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Commiseration 

18. Advancing cautiously 


96 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 






FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 97 


KEY TO No. 39 

Reading Abound the Cikcle : 

1. Part of a river 

2. Dance music 

3. An antagonist 

4. A facial defect 

5. Essential in spelling 

6. A connecting passage 

7. Pertaining to church affairs 

8. Languishing 

Reading Towakd the Centke : 

1. Peculiarity of the toes 

2. Running water 

3. Over-dressed fellows 

4. Expectations 

9. A degraded condition 

10. A closed transaction 

11. A separator 

12. In no hurry 

13. A break 

14. Discoursing 

15. A stopping place 

16. A deficit 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. To specify at length 

18. Fine engravings 


98 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 






FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 99 


KEY TO No. 40 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. A sound from the kitchen 

2. To make amends 

3. Quick recovery 

4. An unpleasant sound 

5. To keep away 

6. Places for dishes 

7. An effort 

8. An indication of direction 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. Anxiety 

2. A favorite flower 

3. A delightful region 

4. Strike breakers 

9. A venomous snake 

10. A housekeeping problem 

11. To put on 

12. A term in Mah Jong 

13. A patient animal 

14. Chiefly for children 

15. To employ 

16. A finished performance 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Full of animation 

18. A form of exercise 



100 FOSTERS CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 




FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


101 


KEY TO No. 41 

Reading Abound the Cikcle : 

1. Something to copy 

2. To relieve 

3. To refuse 

4. To give an exhibition 

5. Supports 

6. The origin of many words 

7. Between the reel and the hook 

8. One of five letters 

Reading Towabd the Centee : 

1. A fine rain 

2. A flower 

3. The result of reduction 

4. To cover ground 

9. A female hare 

10. To mislay 

11. Fiddle strings 

12. A shelter 

13. Closing words of a speech 

14. Out of order 

15. An arrangement 

16. To admire 

Reading Cleak Ackoss : 

17. Death in the midst of life 

18. To add imaginary details 


102 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 103 


KEY TO No. 42 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. A firm fastening 

2. Demoted 

3. A flower 

4. A favorite amateur performance 

5. A mild English drink 

6. Shrinking 

7. The only authority for many 

8. A propelling movement 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. Where candy comes from 

2. A ceremony 

3. Pendants 

4. An obstruction, if red 

9. Unpleasant criticism 

10. Important, in case of fire 

11. Not clearly seen 

12. Requiring translation 

13. A vehicle 

14. A winter toy 

15. Part of a garden 

16. Difficult to unhook 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Allowed to proceed 

18. A soldier’s outfit 


104 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across . from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 105 


KEY TO No. 43 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. Useful for travelers 

2. Unable to proceed 

3. Tactful 

4. A person of some importance 

5. A joyful song 

6. Reward for public service 

7. Part of the subway system 

8. Impressive in appearance 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. For hire 

2. For the poor 

3. What to do with letters 

4. Additional 

9. A waterproof covering 

10. To lean against anything 

11. The favorite color of the vain 

12. Not attractive 

13. A field of grass 

14. To try out 

15. A silencer 

16. Capable for the task 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. A substitute for silver 

18. A confusion of loud voices 


106 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


107 


KEY TO No. 44 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. A firm hold 

2. Often asked 

3. Single 

4. A demagogue 

5. Unfriendly 

6. To be desired 

7. A high flier 

8. Wanting something 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. A secluded place 

2. Needs masticating 

3. A garden plant 

4. A connection 

9. An enemy to trees 

10. What the boss does 

11. Part of a day 

12. Going slow 

13. A domestic pet 

14. A small bird 

15. Competition 

16. Popular songs 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Abandoned pleasures 

18. Repetition 


108 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Bound the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Bim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 






FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


109 


KEY TO No. 45 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. An additional charge 

2. To constrain 

3. Political organization 

4. A covering 

5. Money 

6. A native 

7. Brings hard times 

8. An octavo 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. One of two 

2. Several 

3. Traveling companions 

4. To diminish 

9. Forty cubic feet 

10. Likewise 

11. The fruit of a tree 

12. A young horse 

13. The hobo’s friend 

14. A small measurement 

15. A flat denial 

16. Things complained of 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. To expel 

18. Vigorous protests 


110 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 






FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 111 


KEY TO No. 46 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. Essential in billiards 

2. The nse of artillery 

3. Loss of physical liberty 

4. A prelude 

5. Obdurate 

6. A command 

7. A favorite berth 

8. A breakfast dish 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. After making home brew 

2. Might be better 

3. An indication of age 

4. A country dish 

9. A bent line 

10. Coral islands 

11. Showing agreement 

12. To deserve 

13. A recent discovery 

14. A land measure 

15. A slippery proposition 

16. In addition 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Out of the common 

18. To increase unduly 


112 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre . 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across , from left to right. 






FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 113 


KEY TO No. 47 

Reading Around the Circle : 

1. A style in architecture 

2. A labor saver 

3. Covering 

4. Relativity 

5. A gear wheel 

6. After the bath 

7. Last item on a bill 

8. A valuable casting 

Reading Toward the Centre : 

1. A wading bird 

2. A companion 

3. Makeshift accommodations 

4. Joined together 

9. Nothing 

10. A result of smoking 

11. To intimidate 

12. A poetical piece of land 

13. A cereal grass 

14. Robust 

15. A small horse 

16. Hostility 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. To foretell 

18. Blowing one’s own horn 


114 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER'S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 115 


KEY TO No. 48 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. Against authority 

2. Irreligious 

3. Defeated 

4. Handle with care 

5. Subsequently 

6. A malicious person 

7. A German beverage 

8. An effect of fire 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. A venture 

2. To put by 

3. A division 

4. Vain fellows 

9. A container 

10. A secured debt 

11. A pinch 

12. Grain carriers 

13. A partial covering 

14. An iron band 

15. A person whose age is often asked 

16. Part of a foot 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. For the church only 

18. A decision 


116 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, mnst read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 




FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 


117 


KEY TO No. 49 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. Something to strike 

2. A girl’s ambition 

3. In a merry mood 

4. A quiet hint 

5. To dry off 

6. An eminence 

7. A kind of cake 

8. A separator 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. A ship’s officer 

2. A return 

3. A small measure 

4. A thin-waisted insect 

9. A rope 

10. A hiding place 

11. An interpolation 

12. A valve 

13. Shrinking 

14. The fisherman’s pet bait 

15. Resentment 

16. A support 

Reading Clear Across : 

17. Rebuilt 

18. A political reformer 


118 FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 



DIRECTIONS 

All the 5-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 5, 6, 
7, 8, and the 7-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 2, 
3, 4, must read Round the circle, from left to right. 

All the 4-letter words, beginning with the Nos. 1, 10, 
2, 12, 3, 14, 4, 16, and all the 3-letter words, beginning 
with the Nos. 9, 11, 13, 15, must read from the Rim 
Towards the Centre. 

The two 13-letter words, Nos. 17 and 18, must read 
Clear Across, from left to right. 





FOSTER’S CIRCLE-WORD PUZZLES 119 


KEY TO No. 50 

Reading Around the Circle: 

1. Part of a piano 

2. A triumph 

3. A bundle 

4. Homage 

5. To open up 

6. A happening 

7. A product of flax 

8. A written discourse 

Reading Toward the Centre: 

1. A conjurer’s trick 

2. A warm place 

3. Symbol of victory 

4. To clean 

9. A retreat 

10. A grimace 

11. Expressing assent 

12. An insignificant part 

13. To preserve 

14. A near relative 

15. A skein of yarn 

16. Remuneration 

Reading Clear Across: 

17. Ambiguous language 

18. A body of employees 


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